Choosing the Hard Way aka 'Artemis and Holly'
by Bane8
Summary: Post-TTP TAC incorporated later . Amid some good old adventure, Artemis and Holly grapple with feelings difficult to deal with, given their differences. Throw in some Opal Koboi, some mortal danger, and it all becomes infinitely harder...or easier?
1. Chapter 1

Artemis plucked irritably at the lint on his coat sleeves. This was getting unreasonable. He had sent two messages! That was unheard of, really. And still no news. Artemis turned towards the intercom.

"Butler, old friend, could you come in for a moment? I wish to speak with you."

His burly bodyguard knocked on the door in a matter of seconds.

"Come in."

"Is there something you need, Artemis?"

Artemis frowned. He tapped the tips of his fingers together rapidly. Then he jumped up and began pacing distractedly about the room. Once in a while, he paused and made as though to speak to Butler; but each time, he closed his mouth and continued his pacing. Butler knew better than to question the boy genius when he was in such a mood, and waited.

"Butler. Do you think that it's normal to receive two messages from someone you – get along with – and not respond?" Artemis finally fired off quickly.

Butler was mildly amused. So this was the big question.

"Might I ask, Artemis, if your question is driven by interactions with females – that to say, girl troubles?"

Artemis darted a look at his bodyguard. "No, Butler – the issue is quite divorced from "girl troubles", I can assure you. It was something that I was researching," drawled Artemis, imitating cool collectedness perfectly. But Butler hadn't learnt nothing about Artemis from the years spent protecting him. He knew his charge well – more than the young man probably liked to admit. And what Butler knew was that matters of the heart disturbed Artemis more than anything else, primarily because it annoyed him that he could be so affected.

"Alright."

Pause.

"Well, Butler?"

Butler looked upon Artemis mildly before commenting, "I would venture to say that the situation you describe is normal and forgivable, particularly if the person in question is likely to have been extremely busy in the period of time. A month isn't a particularly long period of non-correspondence, Artemis."

Artemis made a motion that was as close to a start as was possible for him.

_How does Butler know I'm talking about her so quickly? I am losing my touch._

"Thank you, Butler, you may go."

Butler took his leave. Artemis sank down into his chair once more. He hadn't heard from Captain Holly Short in a month – well, less than a month to be exact – it had been exactly 27 days, 10 hours and 4 minutes since she had kissed him on the cheek and taken off into the sky. Which wasn't an abysmally long duration; Artemis Fowl had many demands on his time. What disturbed him was that while he had aided The People in their search for Opal Koboi, researching, keeping a close tab on suspected hide-outs through a small configuration of key satellite systems and the like, even allowing the manor to be swiped due to Opal's brief stay there, the Captain had never once been part of the teams sent in. At first Artemis had dismissed it as a temporary matter of more active duty. After all, he could not see why else the elf would be kept from dropping by Fowl Manor. But from his secret surveillance, it emerged that on one of the days when it had been long-arranged that he would handle a tedious business matter several cities away, Holly had dropped in to oversee operations for a few hours. She clearly wasn't _that _busy then. Surely she had the tiniest time to spare. She hadn't bothered to message him, hell, she had even kept out of the surveyed parts of the house (unsuccessfully, because he bugged practically everything). And she had not replied his messages, which was particularly exasperating because it generally wounded his pride a lot to make first moves that didn't benefit him.

His first message.

_Operations proceeding according to schedule. Lieutenant Bors informs me that internal security has been tightened Underground. A._

His second one, decidedly more desperate.

_Have been thinking about a closer sweep of the Asian continent. But after closer consideration have decided against it because it is unlikely K will settle in an area so far from her objectives. If any further thoughts on the issue, share. A._

The senselessness of the second message annoyed Artemis. Her non-response annoyed him further. Artemis Fowl, boy genius, now suspected that Captain Holly Short just might be evading him.

***

Holly hovered in the breeze for a bit before dipping down and winging herself homeward.

Understandably, she was worn out by the time she reached her dwelling. It had been a tough day, even by her insane standards. Grimacing at the way her body creaked and ached as she shuffled her way about, she resolved to whip herself back into shape. All this gallivanting about after Koboi had tired her out entirely.

She filled her toilet pond with hot water and stripped off her suit and one-piece before stepping in with a happy sigh. She let herself drift for a few seconds before grabbing the cleanser and beginning to scrub herself vigorously. _It would be so much easier if The People got used to doing their baths up once in a while like the Mud Men. All their lazy, automated procedures._

Speaking of Mud Men. Holly's mind unwillingly drifted to the boy Artemis Fowl. She sighed. She missed her unlikely friend. They had been through hellfire together, swapped eyes, got into the worst of trouble. He was so intelligent and so sure of it that it was infuriating sometimes. And, wonder of wonders, he had even begun being vaguely humane. Holly had grown to enjoy his company a lot over the years.

But it was getting hard, too. Ever since her stupid temporary adolescence acquired from the timestream and that kiss she had given him, and him revealing how he had lied to her, she had been feeling very confused about this Mud Boy. Who was fast becoming a man. Which also confused her, in a slightly different way. Generally, everything Artemis-related these days caused her a great deal of confusion, which she absolutely detested. Hence she was furious. And hence she tried her best to avoid the source of that confusion.

_Which isn't exactly fair, is it? _That voice in her head told her. _He might be a lying goblin but he has been a great friend to you._

_Well, Holly, that isn't exactly the point._

_Then what is?_

_You know._

_What?_

"The point is that without being aware till recently, I think I've become too fond of him. And it upsets me, because he lied to me, and I don't appreciate losing my self-control. He's not right for me. We're different species, he's younger, it's inappropriate. And to top it all he can be quite a troll. Holly you are losing the self-control you value so much, so pull yourself together!" With that, Holly tried her best to snap herself out of it. She was becoming comical. Fancying a teenage Mud Man. Holly rolled her eyes. That was something to brag about indeed.

And to add to the humour in the whole situation, his two messages to her had been completely hilarious. He had been talking total dwarf waste in that second one! Holly allowed herself to laugh out loud for about two seconds before stifling it. She didn't feel comfortable getting too jolly over him.

_Beep! Beep!_

Holly swore loudly and almost slid underwater. She had almost dozed off in the past 5 minutes. Water dripping down her lashes and obscuring her vision, she reached for her communicator. She was dismayed to see that it was flashing red. The caller had labeled it a very-urgent call. Without a further thought, she whipped it open.

And found herself staring into a pale, dark-haired boy's hazel and blue eyes.

***

Artemis was not happy. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table and noted the time with interest. If his calculations were right, Holly should have reached her dwelling by this time, provided she had been on conventional duty timing. Pushing aside the reservations that were already starting to cry out in his rational mind, Artemis picked up his phone and called Holly.

And then he stared at the screen and waited. A few moments later, she picked up.

He felt slightly strange when her familiar face zoomed into view. Her high cheekbones, short auburn crop, slightly flared eyebrows.

She was staring at him, incredulous.

Artemis suddenly noticed, turning impossibly red, that her hair and face were wet and droplets were running down her neck. _Neck? I haven't really seen Holly's neck before. Interesting. _ And shoulders. He glimpsed the tops of her slim brown shoulders before the view suddenly jiggled dangerously. He heard a muffled "D'Arvit!" before the screen steadied itself again.

"Artemis! What in the world do you think you are doing, setting your call to emergency level?" Holly practically screamed.

Artemis felt a tremendous urge to wince but he controlled himself.

"Who says it isn't an emergency, Captain Short?" he said, smirking.

Holly glared at him suspiciously. Then she sighed and her voice softened slightly.

"Well, is it an emergency?"

"I thought you might want to take my call. It doesn't appear that The People's message communication system works too well anymore."

Silence. Holly didn't meet his eyes for a while.

"This isn't a very good time to call, Artemis. I am in the bath."

Artemis smiled slightly. _I don't need you to remind me, Holly._

"I've noticed that, Captain. I might be untrustworthy, but I would never dream of deliberately making you pick up the communicator when you are undressed." The moment he said that, Artemis realized that it sounded highly inappropriate. It was full of innuendo. What was happening to him? Why were his words not well chosen? He was beginning to act like a boy his age. That was alarming.

If Holly had realized, she betrayed nothing but a slight reddening along her cheeks.

"Alright, Artemis. Do you mind telling me why you called me, exactly? I don't feel too enlightened here."

Artemis looked into her face keenly for a while, seeming to search her, and Holly wondered slightly uncomfortably what he was looking for.

"I would like you to drop by my house within the next two days. I hope that's alright with you."

Holly felt a little doubtful. She had told herself not to get too close to Artemis again. But surely a casual visit would do no harm. She had been a little unfair to him, after all.

"Alright."

"Thank you, Holly." _Click. _

Holly hoped to goodness that her sanity wouldn't fail her anytime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

_Zzziiiiinngggggg! _

Another of those ridiculous Peashooters zipped past Holly, missing her by a hair. The force of it striking the rock face propelled the squad several metres in various directions – Holly felt herself spin in two full circles before regaining her balance. She swore in the filthiest way possible before ordering her squad to retreat to the previous position. This was getting out of hand.

The A5 Special Ops Team, led by Holly, had been leading an initially successful offensive against what the LEP suspected to be a Koboi-led establishment, built discreetly into a cliff. It was unlikely that Opal would be there, but there was that possibility – regardless, LEP take-over of the area would doubtlessly result in many important Bois being taken into custody.

As the squad took a breather behind the shelf of rock, Holly thought about what she was doing and succumbed to a pressing urge to roll her eyes. She said aloud, "I'm fighting Bois and Peashooters", just to see how it sounded.

It sounded ridiculous.

"Oh yes you are. Heavenly, isn't it?" Foaly had clearly overheard her comment and had decided to participate.

"Hardly, Foaly. Those blasted peashooters don't resemble peas at all. One just blasted the rock behind me to bits," Holly said drily, motioning to her squad that they were to get into formation. She signaled to the concealed attack shuttles that they were going to attempt a pincer attack.

"Hey, what do you expect? Opal Koboi might be naming her stuff after Mud Kid programmes but she did come in second in that big tech competition. Of course, the reason you're still alive is, yours truly came in first and I am the one who does your stuff."

Holly rolled her eyes once more at the very audible smirk in his voice. That centaur really needed a good dose of humility. "Okay, business as usual, Foaly, can't talk now," said Holly quickly, before snapping down her visor and launching herself into the open. At the same time, the attack shuttles zipped past and began a full frontal attack. Holly led two of her squad members in a swift weave toward the left. Several abnormal crevices had been detected on the cliff face and Holly had deemed it necessary to get a closer look. Ideally they would infiltrate the premises from there.

Holly did a thermal scan. No snipers behind those crevices. From experience Holly knew that didn't mean much, so she continued weaving, advancing and retreating slightly every few seconds. They were closing in – they'd soon be near enough to do a more detailed scan of what was behind the rock. Holly noticed that Corporal Crumb, a relative rookie, who was a little way diagonally in front of her, had begun picking up his pace slightly.

"Steady, Crumb."

"Yes'm."

Close enough now. "Foaly, I need a closer scan."

"Coming right up."

The corporal began zigzagging in a reckless fashion.

"Watch your approach, Crumb!"

The other fairy's reply came in bubbling with youthful excitement.

"I've done the necessary thermal scan, m'am, and –"

"It still isn't –"

Then Foaly's voice over the transmitter, rushed and slightly higher-pitched than usual. "Holly, get yourself out of there. Go up, down, whatever, get out of range! They've got bot snipers in there!"

"D'Arvit! Bot snipers, get out of range!" Holly was just about to power herself upward as fast as she could when she saw that the young Corporal had stilled in panic. He would be too late. Holly shot diagonally forwards, literally crashing into Crumb and sending him flying to the side. Almost immediately, she felt the impact in her left shoulder. She glanced down. It looked like a large dart. Then she saw the blood oozing out. The blue sparks of magic that buzzed round the wound were fizzling out as though tired. _What in the world?_

Vision clouding, Holly felt herself falling slowly seaward.

_Stupid males. _

_***_

It was way past midnight and he hadn't slept a wink. Too much, caffeine, he supposed. Coupled with feeling ill at ease, because two days had gone by and Holly hadn't come over. He wasn't needy, but he knew that she took what she agreed to seriously and it didn't bode well that she hadn't turned up yet. Artemis pushed aside the covers and went to his computer. It made no sense to force himself to sleep if he couldn't and had better things to do. He soon became engrossed in the blueprints that Foaly had sent over. Artemis smirked to himself. With the Opal Koboi chase ongoing, Foaly had finally conceded that he might not perform optimally solo. So he had struck up an agreement with Artemis .

_We work together, but if anyone but Holly hears about this, or if you tell anyone I've been sharing fairy technology with you, your mind will be wiped so hard you won't remember your mother._

_Here's where you go, "Savvy, Mud Boy?""_

_Very smart._

Artemis felt helpful. The old him, let's say, the ten-year-old little bastard he had met in the past, would never have shared the workload of a harangued centaur. It made him feel nice. _I could almost get used to this, _he thought. _But not too used to it, naturally._

His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. A call.

Holly!

He pressed the green button, only to see Foaly's face filling the screen. Artemis was about to raise his eyebrows and say something sarcastic when he noticed that the centaur's face was pale, and his expression afraid. Artemis felt something icy cold clench sickeningly around his heart and stomach. He jumped to his feet without being aware of what he was doing, fighting to keep his voice down from a worried squeak.

"What is it, Foaly? What's happened? This is Holly's communicator."

"Artemis, things aren't good. Holly's been shot. It's not a typical dart or bullet."

Artemis sank into his chair again.

"Magic, Foaly! Surely another officer can use magic even if hers is out?"

Foaly shook his head frantically.

"It seems to repel magic, Artemis. I'm analyzing the dart now. But it'll take a while. All we know is that we've taken the accursed thing out and the wound isn't healing. It's like – "

"Alright. Foaly. What can I do to help?" Artemis blinked and took a deep breath. It wouldn't do to lose his head in any situation. _Your wits, Artemis. _

"There's another thing. The tip of the dart is coated in something. Upon my preliminary analysis it is particularly active in the presence of, or proximity to, natural elements; earth, natural air, you get my drift, and – "

"That's why the wound isn't healing. Because you're underground."

"Well. Yes, in a nutshell. At least, I think that's what is going on. I can't deny that this is something that is unfamiliar to me. I can't understand – "

"Holly needs human medicine, Foaly."

"What? I did think of that. I'm calling you, aren't I? She can't go to one of those Mud Men Horsepitals, Artemis. "

"Yes, I know. I'll get a room upstairs done, and I'll make the proper arrangements, including reinforcements to dull the natural factor."

Foaly looked a little hesitant. Then he nodded.

"I'll handle the clearance. And work on the analysis double-quick. How soon can she be transferred over?"

"Give me two hours."

"Understood. Later, then."

The screen blacked out. Artemis was very tempted to allow himself a couple of seconds to wallow in the dark cesspit of worry that had multiplied in his gut over the course of the phone conversation. But this was no time for that. He immediately summoned Butler and began scrolling through his contacts, shooting a message off to Foaly when he remembered that he hadn't asked where Holly had been hit. Throughout all this, he took care to tap his foot continuously and prove and re-prove mathematical theorems in his head when he wasn't preoccupied. He even tried a little humming, which he discontinued soon enough.

Anything to keep his mind off the prospect of Holly Short in mortal danger.

***

Holly vaguely recalled waking once or twice to a sharp pain in her shoulder. Her vision was blue-tinged and blurry, like there was some film over her eyes. That made her uncomfortable, somehow, and she reached out, limbs heavy as though she was treading water, to the moving figures around her.

"My eyes are blue."

_Artemis has blue eyes. Eh? No. I have one too. I have his blue eye._

_That has nothing to do with what's going on._

"Be still, Captain."

Holly tried reaching out again. Important. Important to tell someone.

"Just lie back and sleep, Captain. Here."

Something put into her mouth, tipped down her throat.

Getting hazier. Arms not responding to her anymore.

"Magic…magic doesn't…"

Dark.


	3. Chapter 3

_Would like to say that I'm sorry for such a long update wait. I have no good reason…I just went off fanfiction for a long while and am now back. Hope past and new readers will enjoy this! I have changed the title and story properties a little. Please feel free to provide constructive feedback, ideas for story direction (or future stories), and factual corrections etc. I might incorporate the events of The Atlantis Complex into later chapters/another story._

**Foaly**

Foaly was worried. He hesitated to admit it to anyone, but all this Opal Koboi business was getting heavily on his nerves. These days his hoof was stamping so much of its own (irritable) accord that he could genuinely feel a touch of soreness.

Hrumph-ing and ha-ing, he seized his fifth carrot of the day and bit it rather more viciously than usual. That's when the reports of the next two sniper victims came in.

_**An hour later…**_

**Artemis**

Artemis had been reviewing Foaly's findings when his surveillance alerted him to Holly's regaining of consciousness. Relieved, he immediately made his way upstairs and quietly opened the door to her room. There he was greeted by a welcome sight – at least, considering the circumstances – Holly half-risen from the bed, eyes pinned on him in watchful hostility. _She obviously thinks someone has taken her captive again, _Artemis thought, with a pang of self-guilt. The gaze morphed to confused exhaustion as she recognized him, and she gingerly fell back onto the sheets.

"Artemis, what's happening? What am I doing here? The last I recall, I was shot by a bot sniper...how's Crumb?"

"Corporal Crumb is unhurt – Foaly informs me he is currently being treated for mild shock. We also know that magic did not heal you. Please lie still, I will provide the updates."

"I'm already much stiller than I'd like to be, actually. But go on," grumbled Holly.

Artemis made the account of events brief. It was easy to see that Holly was in one of her snappy moods - highly excusable, really, given that she was a claustrophobic elf stuck in a windowless room with magic that wouldn't work. Artemis frowned slightly to as he spoke, wondering if he should have had the room decorated a little before Holly's arrival. Looking through her eyes (at least, one of them), it did appear rather bare.

"Let me get this straight. Opal Koboi has created a compound that incapacitates magic," said Holly slowly, brows narrowed.

"Essentially."

"And she's using it as a frontline weapon against the LEP?"

"On surface analysis, yes."

"Alright, genius. What's the deeper analysis?" Holly asked, half-exasperated, half-amused.

Artemis paused and looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing.

"It appears to make perfect sense initially. Attacking LEP forces with tainted darts, creating chemicals particularly magic-deterrent underground; if just to deal with wounded soldiers, Haven would need to extend their resources aboveground, which would leave them more exposed. In addition, consider the People's historical dependence on magic in the medical arena. A field where technology is, uniquely, largely out of the picture. Your natural immunity systems are weak due to magic dependence."

Holly was beginning to catch on. "But LEP hardly does frontline, and rarely in large numbers, so possible casualties from such attacks are few. And it's not as though the People _cannot _employ Mud Men medical technologies. It's just inconvenient and takes time."

"Exactly," Artemis nodded. "Which is why, of course, I have been unfortunately burdened with you."

Holly rolled her eyes and shifted suddenly in Artemis' direction, before falling back once more with a pained groan.

"You should really minimize movement. You'll be alright," said Artemis in a tone which was as close to a comforting one as he could get. Then, because he genuinely cared and was genuinely worried, he extended a pale, slender-fingered hand towards the little mound under the sheets that was Holly's left hand, and patted it stiffly.

**Holly**

Her eyes darted to his hand. Which was patting hers. Holly glanced up at Artemis for a moment. If Artemis Fowl was taking the initiative to physically comfort her, it must mean he had been very worried. That was touching. Holly's heart ached slightly for him and filled with warmth. She felt a sudden strong urge to place a hand against his cheek. And because she couldn't be sure if the motivations behind that urge would pass her new 'appropriateness' test, she tried distracting herself.

"Well, Artemis, I only moved because of you."

"I know that very well."

"Really."

"Yes. You were attempting to assault me. It was obvious from the look in your eyes," replied Artemis drily, his lips curving into a slight smile.

"Hmm."

The two stayed in silence for a while.

"Artemis?"

"Yes?"

"You're still patting me."

Artemis looked mildly surprised when this was pointed out. He withdrew his hand and frowned at it as if to question its suspicious independent behaviour and Holly couldn't resist a small laugh before returning to the serious issues.

"Moving on? The deeper analysis?"

Artemis paused to re-gather his thoughts.

"Alright. Opal Koboi is intelligent. This isn't her main plan. It could well be a mistakenly-tainted dart if the facility you were attempting to breach was previously engaged in production of this chemical. Foaly tells me that the two bot sniper victims after you were hit with darts coated instead in barb solution –"

"Ouch. Those are terribly hard to remove."

"Mm. Alternatively, in deploying these chemicals on the frontline, Opal is either trying to distract, or brag."

"Or both."

"Yes. What I need to figure out now are, how else she intends to utilize these chemicals, and what other dangerous forms they might take."

Holly suddenly felt immensely weary. Artemis' words had already begun going over her head. And her shoulder hurt. She wondered how the boy genius managed to keep _thinking _all the time. It was surprising his head hadn't exploded several times over from the activity. Letting her eyes close, she nodded sleepily, murmuring, "Sounds easy."

**Artemis**

Seeing Holly's obvious exhaustion, Artemis got to his feet.

"Have a rest, Holly. I'll talk more with you later."

He made his way quietly over to the door, but couldn't resist glancing back over his shoulder at his friend before leaving. If the dart had hit her just a few millimeters to the right, he'd be looking at a dead elf. _Thank you for staying alive, Holly. _He took a rare moment to look at her, properly, while her eyes were closed and it was safe for him to stare in this manner without running the risk of verbal or physical assault. Somehow, gazing at her flared eyebrows and keen cheekbones made him feel comforted, almost happy. Which was quite ludicrous, given the gossip between Foaly and Mulch that he'd guiltily lowered himself to listening in on, recently. Apparently the young male elves in the LEP were quite taken with Captain Holly Short's pretty face, but were similarly taken with making themselves scarce whenever she came round.

Artemis scoffed mentally at this. These fairies just didn't know how to deal with, what was that slang-like phrase? Girl power. Holly Short was the epitome of girl power. And she held him in high regard, he was sure of that. They had been through so much together. And now, even if she tried avoiding him, she would fail miserably. Somehow those thoughts made him absurdly proud of and pleased with himself. He wore a full-blown smirk all the way down the hall.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for reviews so far! I know these 2-3 chapters aren't seamless & might be touch confusing (thanks for feedback, Ru-Doragon), but there's a reason for it, considering I plan to rope in TAC events somewhere. Because of this, there's going to be some jumps in subject matter within chapters (if not it'll be ridiculously long)…please bear with me. There'll be more action later. This chapter is largely A/H, yay. Do review!_

**Artemis**

"Listen, Mud Boy. If there's one thing the LEP isn't short of, it's suspicious happenings. Everything is suspicious. Weapons are suspicious. An innocent-looking dwarf is suspicious. Even a carrot can be suspicious. We simply do not have the resources to follow up on all these suspicious leads!" Trouble Kelp's long declaration was followed by loud and rather disgusting crunching noises, as Foaly devoured a carrot on another end of the three-way call.

"So, the substance on the dart was nothing, essentially? It'll be categorized as one of those things not deemed worthy of being pursued?" Artemis articulated these words slowly and calmly. There was no sense in getting agitated. He needed to think.

"I'll put it this way, Fowl. It's not something until someone shows me it's a probable and significant threat. Even if you fund the investigation with your own resources," said Trouble with a small chuckle, obviously finding the thought of Artemis putting his own money into it highly amusing. "It wouldn't help anything. After all, it seems even your big brain can't come up with a direction for investigation."

"Eloquent as always, Commander Kelp," responded Artemis, lacing his words with a slight sneer to hide his irritation. _Five. Good. _Trouble Kelp might be respectable, but he was perpetually bubbling over the brim with the manly-soldier act. Harmless, of course. But Artemis wondered what the old Artemis would have done. Verbally pulverized him, probably.

"Less of the smart talk, Fowl. Remember, I care for armpit lice more than I care for you."

"Indeed, Commander. A pity then, that I do not similarly have armpit lice to compare my regard for you against. I am shattered. If we have no more to discuss, I'll take my leave." Artemis severed the call connection with Kelp and turned his attention to Foaly. The centaur was attempting to guffaw inconspicuously on the other end of the line.

"Foaly, is there really nothing else you can gather?"

"Hmm. Ha-ha. The compound isn't a direct threat, Artemis. We thought too much of it because it was hard to detect and break down. It's nasty, definitely – I mean, alcohol, animal fat, holy water, radicalized plant extract. Bam. But it's not _that _hard to deal with, unless a whole lot of it gets up close and personal with a fairy. Which is unlikely."

It had emerged over the past week that the compound was not quite as dangerous as they had originally thought. Wounds contaminated by the compound, if dealt with swiftly, were nothing a cocktail of fairy spring water and human medicine couldn't fix. Artemis had a niggling suspicion that there was more to this than met the eye, but he wondered if his concern over the compound was largely the emotional backlash from his worry over Holly's injury. It was frustrating that he felt such unease –and uncommon unease, it was - without having a calculated basis for it, for he was loath to rely on instincts alone. Instincts set no direction for constructive progress. It was not his style. His style was practicality and logic. And his logical brain told him that this was a spiteful compound with no wider significance.

_Which is just as well, _thought Artemis, tapping his finger methodically upon his desk, and filing the issue of the compound into the recesses of his mind. _Because I need to put my all into THE PROJECT. My __raison d'être._

_Two days later…_

**Holly**

Holly moved lightly across the hallway and took a quick look round the banister before she descended. She had spent close to a week recuperating in Fowl Manor. The exasperating majority of that week had been spent lying in bed, at Artemis' insistence. But now, with just a few days till she would be cleared for light duties, she figured it was time to stop humouring her friend.

Already feeling much sprightlier, she practically skipped round the next bend in the stairs.

To come upon a shocking sight.

Artemis was on the floor. And he wasn't just on the floor. He was completely covered from his shoulders to his toes in a mountain of coloured blocks (LEGO, Holly noticed), cushions (some tasteful and some polka-dotted), and submerged stuffed animals. The unburied part of him was garnished generously with splotches of brown and red paint. The stuff was in his hair, on his nose, and smeared down his cheeks.

He was also making a strange noise. For a moment Holly was worried – perhaps the weight of the toys was too great for his feeble torso? He was, after all, very weak. Then it hit her. Artemis Fowl was laughing. She stared, and a wide smile began to creep across her face. She hadn't expected his laugh to sound like that. It was boyish and hearty, and in some extraordinary way which constricted her heart slightly, quite thrilling.

The twins, Myles and Beckett, were clearly having the time of their lives. Beckett was sprinkling more LEGO over the burial mound, alternating between chuckling merrily and intoning, "You cannot escape! Simple-toon, you my prish'ner!" Myles was huddled beside him, mixing several highly questionable ingredients together in a test tube, his chubby little body shaking with mirth.

And now, it seemed Myles was finished with his concoction. "Ready, Beckett? We can do the 'speriments now."

Beckett turned and nodded at his twin solemnly. Both little boys advanced towards their imprisoned brother. Myles imperiously motioned that he should open his mouth, and Artemis, looking at the greenish-grey contents of the test tube, decided the end was near.

"Butler! I need help! The twins have me trapped! Nono no, Myles, that is dangerous, you can't – Holly?"

**Artemis**

For a few befuddled seconds, he stared stupidly up at her. She stared right back at him, smiling, eyes mischievously bright. _She really is very pretty, _thought Artemis. _Those LEP elves have good taste_.

Fortunately, Holly had reached out to prop up the test tube and prevent its contents from tipping into his mouth. Artemis watched her, still in a state of shock from his 22nd close shave with death or extreme injury, as she looked away from him and proceeded to mollify the disgruntled twins.

"Hello, Myles. Hello, Beckett. What experiments were you conducting?" said Holly, very gently. Her voice was so honeyed, it could have charmed a tiger to sleep. Artemis practically felt his blood sugar level rise just listening to her.

"We were trying to make 'splosions, but you stopped us!" said Myles, pouting, but already beginning to look slightly pacified.

"I'm sorry. But what's in the test tube –"

"It's poisonous, twins. What you made was toxic," Artemis cut in, the words coming out a touch more gravely than he'd intended. The little boys looked crestfallen. Holly shot him a withering glare and he got the hint.

Her next few lines were drowned out by the roar of blood rushing to his face as he properly realized the situation he was in. If he could have covered his face in embarrassment, he would have at that moment. He was beyond informal. He was _buried_! In LEGO! Not even scientific journals, or something of that nature. He was covered in paint. So much for thinking Holly held him in high regard. If that had been the case earlier, it certainly wasn't now. It was times like these, Artemis surmised, that the casual vernacular existed to describe. He was a _loser. _Quite thoroughly one. Although, it was comforting that the word had five letters.

As he wallowed in shame, the twins were once again up to a fresh bout of antics.

"Are you Artemis' friend? What's your name?" said Myles conversationally, a winsome smile plastered over his fat face. Artemis snorted. Best of friends now, it seemed.

"Yes. I'm Holly," Holly replied, looking at the toddler with obvious delight. For a split second, and to Artemis' mortification, a tiny and inane voice in his head whined, _I wish I was 2.5 years old and overweight_.

"Holly. You're really pwetty," chirped Beckett charmingly, scooting closer to the elf. Holly beamed at him. _**What? **_

"Bee-yew-tee-ful. Like a summer's day," added Myles outrageously, scooting over to her other side.

_ That's it, twins. No more Shakespeare for a long, long time. _

Holly laughed, caught the look on Artemis' face, and laughed harder before bending and running one hand over each little boy's head.

"Where did you learn that? Did Artemis teach you that?"

Myles nodded enthusiastically. Then, in a conspiratorial whisper, "Artemis reads love poetry. He likes it."

_ Hurrkk._

"Holly, the twins need their nap. You should use the _mesmer_," spluttered Artemis, deciding this was quite enough. He was being massively shown up by his baby brothers, and his was definitely not a position of power.

Holly nodded with obvious reluctance. After Myles and Beckett had peacefully toddled off to bed, she came over and knelt by him. The corners of her mouth twitched.

"Love poetry, eh?"

Artemis groaned. 'Purely for breadth of knowledge, believe me."

"Don't you write Mud Men romance books, Artemis?" said Holly, grinning, taking apart the burial mound with her usual speed and ferocity.

Artemis raised one paint-caked eyebrow.

"Rarely now, but yes, I have been writing those since I was a pre-pubescent. One just needs to follow a fixed formula to delight the feeble-minded masses," he replied, before countering with a question of his own. "Do _you_ read such material Underground?"

Holly arched an eyebrow right back, smiling slightly. "I suppose if I did, I'd be one among the feeble-minded masses?"

"Possibly, but not necessarily. I notice you didn't answer my question."

"I don't exactly have time for romance books, Artemis."

"When you were younger, though? I find it hard to believe a young female elf didn't read any books of this nature. Romance must have interested you."

Holly was silent for a moment. Artemis thought he saw a frown flit across her face, but he couldn't be certain.

"Okay," she said briskly, without meeting his eyes. "I'm all for romance novels. Tall, dark, handsome…chiseled jaw, defined muscles, finely-pointed ears. I dig that."

"I see. Muscles. Are they really necessary? Does it not just prove a man lacks the intellect to pave his way?"

"No. Muscles and intellect aren't exclusive, Artemis."

"Time spent cultivating muscles is time not spent on widening intellectual horizons," retorted Artemis smoothly.

Another silence, this time a longer one.

"What are you doing, Artemis?" said Holly, finally. She sat back upon her ankles and looked him in the eye.

"That's a foolish question. I'm conversing with you, Holly. What else could I be doing?"

"NO, Artemis. I mean it. What are you doing?"


End file.
